RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and etiological characteristics of childhood urolithiasis in Turkey. METHODS: Ninety-two children with urolithiasis were studied retrospectively according to clinical patterns and etiological factors between January 1990 and January 1995. RESULTS: The age range of the patients was from 2 months to 14 years (mean age 6.9 years), and there was a male/female ratio of 1.6. The onset of the disease was earlier in boys than in girls. The most striking features were the initial admission of 14 (15.2%) children after the development of chronic renal failure and that most of them (64.3%) had infection stones. The stones were localized in the upper urinary system in 68.5% of the patients; bladder stones were rare (10.9%). The recurrence rate at presentation was 15.2% in all patients. As etiological factors, an anatomical defect was found in 30.4% of the patients, infections in 31.5%, and metabolic disorders in 26.1%; 11 (12.0%) of them were classified as idiopathic. The earliest presentation was seen with metabolic and infection stones and the highest recurrence rate (37.5%) in patients with metabolic stones. CONCLUSION: Childhood urolithiasis is a serious problem in Turkey. In order to prevent the development of end-stage renal failure and to improve the patients' quality of life, more efforts should be made with respect to early diagnosis and management of renal stones and urinary tract infections.